Netherlands:
Euthanasia reports decline by 15 percent over 4 years

29
April 2003

AMSTERDAM
The number of reported incidents of euthanasia has dropped by 15 percent during
the past four years, but it is suspected the actual "mercy killing"
figure is double the amount of recorded cases.

The
five regional commissions responsible for checking to see if doctors comply
with the regulations laid out in the euthanasia law received about 1,882 reports
last year, about 330 less than the reported cases in 1999, the first year the
commissions issued an annual report.

Some
12 doctors have been cited by the commissions in the past four years for not
complying with all the regulations, but to date none have received a summons
from the public prosecutor.

This
year's annual report by the commissions, published on 29 April, is the first
since the new euthanasia law came into force on 1 April 2002. The Netherlands
was the first country in the world to legalise euthanasia, but the practise
was tolerated for many years prior to this.

Under
the new law, the specialist commissions rather than the public prosecutor's
department decide whether doctors have compiled with the rules. This measure
was intended to give doctors more legal certainty.

But
many doctors still do not trust the commissions and get annoyed and worried
when the commission seeks additional information about specific cases.

The
chairperson for the national body encompassing the five commissions, Reina de
Valk, believes that this suspicion might distort the official euthanasia figures.
De Valk said the actual number of cases might be double the recorded figure.

"Time
is needed to win the confidence of doctors," she said.

The
Health Ministry is currently examining ways to tackle the number of unreported
cases, newspaper De Volkskrant reported.

Meanwhile,
the increased attention for prescribing painkillers might also have helped reduce
the number of euthanasia cases.

Over
the past four years, 12 doctors have been referred to the public prosecutor.
Some cases have been investigated, but no cases have come to court as most cases
referred to alleged procedural failures, rather than deliberate attempts to
flout the law.